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Can any Bollywood drama compare with the awesome spectacle of an Indian election, we asked when we posted the first Election Quiz on April 1.

Who could have predicted that Election 2004 would end up like a Hitchcock film, with elements of that Stallone yarn Cliffhanger thrown in?

Let us check out how much you know about the Great Election Tamasha in this final Election Quiz.

1. Name the only Indian prime minister who has lost an election.
a. Chandra Shekhar.
b. H D Deve Gowda.
c. Indira Gandhi.

Wrong! Try again..
Wrong!
The correct answer is C.
Indira Gandhi lost the 1977 election from Rae Bareli. The only sitting prime minister to be defeated in a general election. Chandra Shekhar lost the 1984 general election, but that was six years before he became prime minister.

Correct!
The correct answer is C.
Indira Gandhi lost the 1977 election from Rae Bareli. The only sitting prime minister to be defeated in a general election. Chandra Shekhar lost the 1984 general election, but that was six years before he became prime minister.

2. Name the prime minister who resigned abruptly after the Congress alleged its leader was being placed under police surveillance.
a. Chandra Shekhar.
b. H D Deve Gowda.
c. V P Singh.

Wrong! Try again..
Wrong!
The correct answer is A.
When Congress leaders alleged that Haryana policemen had placed Rajiv Gandhi under surveillance, the resultant ruckus provoked Chandra Shekhar -- who headed a minority government supported by the Congress -- to resign, forcing a mid-term election on the nation. Chandra Shekhar had wanted to be prime minister for much of his political life, but when the Congress push came to shove, he decided that enough was enough, though he must have known he would never be prime minister again.
Correct!
When Congress leaders alleged that Haryana policemen had placed Rajiv Gandhi under surveillance, the resultant ruckus provoked Chandra Shekhar -- who headed a minority government supported by the Congress -- to resign, forcing a mid-term election on the nation. Chandra Shekhar had wanted to be prime minister for much of his political life, but when the Congress push came to shove, he decided that enough was enough, though he must have known he would never be prime minister again.

3. What links Congress Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi?
a. All of them had deputy prime ministers.
b. All of them were elected from the same constituency in Uttar Pradesh.
c. They are the only prime ministers to die in office.

Wrong! Try again..
Wrong! The correct answer is C.
Jawaharlal Nehru died of cardiac disease on May 27, 40 years ago. Lal Bahadur Shastri died of a heart attack in Tashkent, then a part of the Soviet Union, on January 11, 1966. Indira Gandhi was assassinated on October 31, 1984.
Correct!
Jawaharlal Nehru died of cardiac disease on May 27, 40 years ago. Lal Bahadur Shastri died of a heart attack in Tashkent, then a part of the Soviet Union, on January 11, 1966. Indira Gandhi was assassinated on October 31, 1984.

4. Name the only prime minister who never faced Parliament as prime minister.
a. H D Deve Gowda.
b. I K Gujral.
c. Charan Singh.

Wrong! Try again..
Wrong! The correct answer is C.
After Morarji Desai's Janata Party government fell, Chaudhury Charan Singh formed a government with the support of the Congress-Indira and Congress-United. Between July 28, 1979 and January 14, 1980, when he held office, the Lok Sabha did not meet even once.
Correct!
After Morarji Desai's Janata Party government fell, Chaudhury Charan Singh formed a government with the support of the Congress-Indira and Congress-United. Between July 28, 1979 and January 14, 1980, when he held office, the Lok Sabha did not meet even once.

5. What links Vallabhbhai Patel, Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, Jagjivan Ram, Y B Chavan, Devi Lal and L K Advani?
a. None of them became prime minister.
b. They were members of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
c. All deputy prime ministers.

Wrong! Try again..
Wrong! The correct answer is C.
Vallabhbhai Patel served as deputy prime minister and home minister in the Jawaharlal Nehru Cabinet from 1947 to 1950; Morarji Desai was DPM in Indira Gandhi's Cabinet from 1967 to 1969; both Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram were DPMs in the Morarji Desai Cabinet from January to July 1979; Y B Chavan was DPM in the Charan Singh Cabinet from July 1979 to January 1980; Devi Lal was DPM in the V P Singh Cabinet from December 1989 to November 1990; L K Advani has been DPM since 2002.
Correct!
Vallabhbhai Patel served as deputy prime minister and home minister in the Jawaharlal Nehru Cabinet from 1947 to 1950; Morarji Desai was DPM and finance minister in Indira Gandhi's Cabinet from 1967 to 1969; both Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram were DPMs in the Morarji Desai Cabinet from January to July 1979; Y B Chavan was DPM in the Charan Singh Cabinet from July 1979 to January 1980; Devi Lal was DPM in the V P Singh Cabinet from December 1989 to November 1990; L K Advani has been DPM since 2002.

Election Quiz is best viewed in Internet Explorer and Netscape above version 6.0.

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Quiz 27

Compiled by G K Gokhale
Image: Uttam Ghosh



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